Apple’s new Retina Display MacBook Pro may be snazzy, but it isn’t cheap to fix if the battery fails.

Per Macworld, the battery on the current model has been priced at 54 percent more expensive than the previous iteration. Apple updated the pricing list for MacBook battery replacements, showing that servicing the new model’s battery will run US$199 before tax.

Some MacBook Pro notebooks with built-in batteries require a replacement battery two or three years down the line. Since all of Apple’s latest models do not feature a user-serviceable battery slot, you have to take it to the Genius Bar to get it serviced. This costs US$129 for 13- and 15-inch MacBook Pros, but the Retina MacBook Pro features a higher price.

A replacement battery for the Retina MacBook Pro will cost you US$199 before taxes, Apple’s price list shows—54 percent more than that of previous models. In comparison, the cost of servicing the battery on the now-retired 17-inch MacBook Pro, which featured a larger battery than its smaller notebook counterparts, was US$179.

iFixit’s teardown of the US$2200 15-in Retina MacBook Pro gives a few hints on the reasoning behind the price increase. The battery has 95 watt hours (Wh) at 10.95 V, compared to last year’s 77.5 Wh battery, and instead of being screwed into the machine, it’s glued into place, making it more difficult to replace.

Per AppleInsider, Apple will bring a high-resolution Retina display to its 13-inch MacBook Pro with a product update set to launch this October, according analyst Ming-Chi Kuo of KGI in a note to clients on Thursday. Kuo stated that he expects Apple to ramp up production of a 13-inch next-generation MacBook Pro with Retina display in September. Such a change would allow the product to hit stores in early October, in time for the holiday shopping season.

Kuo was the first to indicate that Apple would retire its 17-inch MacBook Pro, and that the 15-inch next-generation MacBook Pro with Retina display would be sold alongside the previous-generation MacBook Pro with lower-resolution display and thicker design. Both of those details proved true this week at Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference.

Apple has the “highest hopes” for the new 13-inch MacBook Pro with Retina display, according to Kuo. But Apple was likely unable to unveil the new product at WWDC this week because of a low yield rate and greater assembly difficulty, he said.

Like the next-generation Retina display MacBook Pro, the 13-inch variety is expected to lack an optical disc drive and rely solely on solid-state flash memory storage. Kuo expects the screen to have a resolution of 2,560 by 1,600 pixels, and he said the 13-inch model will be slightly thinner than the 15-inch model, at 18 millimeters.

The next-generation 13-inch MacBook Pro is not expected to have discrete graphics like its 15-inch counterpart, but will instead rely on Intel HD 4000 integrated graphics. Kuo also expects it to have an Intel Ivy Bridge processor with a clock speed greater than 2 gigahertz.

As for the just-released 15-inch Retina display MacBook Pro, Kuo said that Apple should have about 300,000 units of the next-generation notebook available to sell this month, a number that he called a “moderate” amount.

Apple on Tuesday released the first software update for the Retina Display MacBook Pro to fix possible trackpad input issues a little over 24 hours after the new machine was debuted on Monday.

Per AppleInsider, MacBook Pro (Retina) Trackpad Update 1.0 addresses an issue where the next generation notebook’s “trackpad may not respond consistently to user input,” according to Apple’s Support Page.

The update comes only a day after Apple’s chief of marketing Phil Schiller unveiled the hotly-anticipated device onstage at WWDC 2012.

While shipments of the Retina Display-sporting 15-inch MacBook Pro have slipped to two to three weeks, some early adopters have already gotten their hands on the first units sold. The number of affected machines is unknown and the issue itself has so far gone largely unreported.

The 1.26MB update can be downloaded through this link or Mac OS X’s Software Update feature and is only applicable to users of the new Retina Display MacBook Pro.

If you’ve gotten your mitts on the new Retina Display MacBook Pro and had a chance to try this update, please let us know.

On Monday, Apple released iMovie 9.0.6, the latest version of its consumer-level video editing application. The new version, a 1.08 gigabyte download, which is available through the Mac App Store’s updater and Mac OS X’s Software Update feature, adds the following fixes and changes:

Per AppleInsider, Apple delivered its long-awaited update of its MacBook Pro notebook on Monday, adding Intel’s latest Ivy Bridge processors, as well as dedicated Nvidia GeForce GT 650M graphics on the 15-inch model.

The updated MacBook Pro is different from the next-generation MacBook Pro Apple unveiled on Monday, as the legacy model maintains the design of its predecessor, as well as the optical disc drive. But the hardware has been updated with new processors and better performance.

The new 13-inch MacBook Pro has a 1,280 by 800 display with options for a 2.5 gigahertz dual-core i5 processor, or a 2.9 gigahertz dual-core i7. The low-end model has a 500 gigabyte hard drive and 4 gigabytes of RAM for US$1,199, while the high-end model sports 8 gigabyte of RAM and a 750 gigabyte hard drive for US$1,499.

The 15-inch MacBook Pro has a 1,440 by 900 pixel display, and both models feature Nvidia GeForce GT 650M graphics. The low-end model has 512 megabytes of graphics memory, 4 gigabytes of RAM, and a 500 gigabyte hard drive for $1,799. The high-end model has 1 gigabyte of graphics memory, 8 gigabytes of RAM, and a 750 gigabyte hard drive for US$2,199.

For those with deeper pockets and a craving for Retina Display goodness, the company unveiled an all-new ultra-thin professional MacBook Pro with a high-resolution Retina display.

Unveiled on Monday by marketing head Phil Schiller at Apple’s annual Worldwide Developers Conference, the new MacBook Pro is as thin as the MacBook Air, at just 0.71 inches thick, Apple said. It’s also the lightest Pro ever, weighing under 4 and a half pounds.

The new model’s 15.4-inch display is said to boasts a resolution of 2,880 by 1,880 pixels which equates to a dense 220 pixels per inch, the highest of any laptop in the world Apple says. Like the iPhone and iPad before it, the new Retina Display has pixels so small that Apple says your eyes cannot discern them from a reasonable distance.

The screen has also been improved with deeper blacks and a higher angle of viewing. Glare has also been reduced by 75 percent, Schiller said.

In preparation of the Retina Display-toting MacBook Pro’s debut, Apple has updated a number of OS X apps including Mail, Safari, iMovie and iPhoto. Professional software like Aperture and Final Cut Pro also received performance bumps to take advantage of the screen’s high resolution.

Third-party apps are also being updated for the Retina display, as Apple showed Diablo III running on the device, and said that Autodesk is working on a new version of AutoCAD.

The next-generation MacBook Pro runs exclusively on Intel’s new Ivy Bridge quad-core Core i7 processors and can be configure with up to 16 gigabytes of RAM. Batteries have also been improved as the unit boasts up to 7 hours of life under normal load along with a MacBook Air-like 30 days of standby time.

As far as connectivity, the new machine features the usual SDXC card reader, but adds two high-speed USB 3.0 ports, two Thunderbolt ports, and HDMI-out. Due to the lack of an optical drive, Apple had space to include ports on both sides of the device and relocated the SDXC card slot and one USB port to the right of the keyboard flanking the HDMI-out connector. New Thunderbolt accessories announced on Monday give FireWire 800 and Gigabit Ethernet capabilities to the new transfer technology.

On the audio/visual front, a new FaceTime HD 720p camera is joined by dual microphones, and are accompanied by what Schiller said are the best stereo speakers Apple has ever put into a notebook.

Rounding out the next-generation MacBook Pro’s feature set is a backlit keyboard, Bluetooth 4.0 connectivity, and 802.11n Wi-Fi.

The machine will also sport a new, smaller MagSafe charging port, which Apple has dubbed “MagSafe 2.”

Per Macotakara, an image claiming to show specifications for an unreleased 13-inch MacBook Pro shows the notebook equipped with an Ivy Bridge processor and USB 3.0 ports, but without a high-resolution Retina display.

The image could easily have been faked. Even so, the questionable image shows hardware specifications as they would usually appear on the box of an Apple notebook.

The image claims the computer will feature a 2.5 gigahertz dual-core Intel Core i5 processor with 3 megabytes of L3 cache and Turbo Boost up to 3.1 gigahertz. It also features 4 gigabytes of 1600 megahertz DDR3 SDRAM, a 500 gigabyte 5400-rpm hard drive, and the new Intel HD Graphics 4000 found in the latest Ivy Bridge processors.

The purported specifications also show the MacBook Pro with a 13.3-inch LED backlit glossy widescreen display with a resolution of just 1,280 by 800 pixels. That resolution would not qualify as an Apple-branded Retina display, as the company is expected to debut new MacBook Pros with higher resolution screens at next week’s Worldwide Developers Conference.

In addition to having a traditional spinning hard drive, the list of features also suggests the 13-inch MacBook Pro will have an 8x slot-loading SuperDrive for CDs and DVDs. Apple’s next MacBook Pros are instead expected to be a significant redesign that will ditch the optical drive for a thinner design like the MacBook Air.

However, the alleged MacBook Pro update does feature two high-speed USB 3.0 ports, in addition to a Thunderbolt port, SDXC card slot, and FireWire 800 port.

The size and weight shown on the spec sheet has the MacBook Pro sized at 12.78 by 8.94 by 0.95 inches and 4.5 pounds. Those are identical to the current 13-inch MacBook Pro sold by Apple.

If legitimate, it’s possible the specifications could show a low-end 13-inch MacBook Pro that Apple intends to release. That model could lack some of the features of the higher end models, like a thinner design and Retina display.

Per The Unofficial Apple Weblog, Hulu released version 2.5 of its iPad app that adds support for the Retina Display of the third generation iPad. The latest version has a new look and feel as well as an enhanced video playback engine. Hulu also has improved AirPlay mirroring and HDMI support, so you can watch your content on your HDTV.

In addition to the software update, Hulu launched ten new original series that’ll help you make it throughout the summer doldrums. These new shows include basketball comedy We Got Next and Spoilers, a movie “revue” series from Kevin Smith. The ten new shows are listed in the press release below. You can download the Hulu app for free from the iOS App Store. It requires a US$7.99 monthly subscription to Hulu Plus.

Hulu 2.5 for iOS requires iOS 4.0 or later to install and run.

If you’ve tried the new version and have any feedback to offer, please let us know in the comments.

Per CNET, DisplaySearch Senior Analyst Richard Shim has stated that super-high-resolution 13.3-inch and 15.4-inch screens are already available from LCD suppliers. But a Retina-quality screen for Apple’s 15-inch MacBook Pro would cost US$160 from suppliers, as opposed to US$68 for current, standard-resolution screens.

Similarly, with a 13.3-inch display, a Retina-caliber screen is US$134, while the LCD panels Apple currently uses are estimated to cost US$69.

If Apple does in fact add Retina displays to its future Macs, as is expected, it’s unknown whether the cost of these high-resolution screens would be passed on to the consumer. Apple upgraded its iPhone, iPod touch and iPad product lineups to Retina displays without increasing the price.

The screens DisplaySearch says are available that would be ideal for Apple’s next-generation MacBook Pros are a 15.4-inch panel with a resolution of 2,880 by 1,800 pixels, or 220 pixels per inch, and a 13.3-inch screen with a resolution of 2,560 by 1,600 pixels, or 227 pixels per inch. Each would add at least 100 pixels per inch to their respective MacBook Pro models.

Numerous reports have indicated Apple will introduce new, thinner MacBook Pros at its annual Worldwide Developers Conference in June. Those new professional notebooks are expected to include Retina display-like screens that will be driven by Intel’s latest-generation Ivy Bridge processors.

The new MacBook Pros are expected to follow in the footsteps of Apple’s popular MacBook Air lineup by ditching built-in optical drives and adding flash memory for faster performance and greater reliability.

It has also been reported that Apple will update its all-in-one desktop line of iMacs at WWDC when it kicks off June 11. The new iMacs are also expected to have high-resolution Retina displays, but potential screens for the desktop were not highlighted by DisplaySearch.

In addition, DisplaySearch did not specifically identify any potential Retina display LCDs for a 17-inch MacBook Pro. One prediction published in April suggested Apple would discontinue its 17-inch MacBook Pro, leaving only the 13- and 15-inch models.

Per Bloomberg, Apple will reportedly debut multiple new MacBook Pro models at the Worldwide Developers Conference in June, each said to sport Retina Display-like screens and high-performance Intel Ivy Bridge processors.

The refreshed lineup is rumored to feature a slim design that will bring the laptop more inline with Apple’s popular MacBook Air series.

The sources also mention that flash memory will be used to decrease boot times and extend battery life, though it was not made clear if the new MacBook Pros will rely on pricey solid state drives exclusively as does the MacBook Air.

While the exact dimensions of the supposed next-generation laptop went unreported, rumors have suggested that the design will take cues from the MacBook Air and may do away with the existing optical drive in an effort to give the machine a slim, tapered appearance.

Also “confirmed” was the implementation of Intel’s new Ivy Bridge processors which were recently unveiled in April. Built on “the world’s first 22nm process” and boasting new 3D transistor technology, the chips are said to be highly-efficient and powerful enough to support 4K resolutions. Intel is initially rolling out the silicon as part of the Core i5 and Core i7 families.

The inclusion of Intel’s powerful new processors could allow for screens with resolutions rivaling those seen on the current iPhone 4 and 4S as well as the new iPad, and rumors have persisted since last year claiming that Apple was working on a Retina Display laptop. Offering further evidence to a possible Retina Display MacBook are the latest OS X Lion updates which brought Hi-DPI UI assets in 10.7.3 and doubled icon resolution in 10.7.4.

Reports from upstream supply chain sources said that mass production of new MacBook Pro models would ramp up starting with the 15-inch model in April followed by a June manufacture for the smaller 13.3-inch unit. No mention of the 17-inch MacBook Pro was made and some predict that Apple will discontinue the large-screened model due to declining shipments.

Apple is also said to be showing off the “future of iOS and OS X” at WWDC 2012, alluding to a possible unveiling of iOS 6 and more Mountain Lion details. The conference will take place from June 11 through the 15 at Moscone West in San Francisco.